


Trial and Error

by NeoVenus22



Category: Power Rangers Dino Thunder, Power Rangers Ninja Storm
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-10
Updated: 2010-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-06 02:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoVenus22/pseuds/NeoVenus22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Conner is a love doctor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trial and Error

Hayley was staring down at the countertop when Conner came into the Cyberspace. It was a slow day, and only Tyler was on staff. Conner had seen Hayley under any number of circumstances, each more bizarre and stressful than the last. She could handle anything you threw at her, Conner knew, but he'd never seen her like this. She was tracing the lines of condensation dripping down her glass, staring at the brightly colored straw with a glum expression. Conner sat down next to her, and after a hesitant moment, put his fingertips on her forearm. "Hayley?"

She looked up sharply. "Oh, hi, Conner," she said with a smile, but he didn't miss the brief flash of pain he'd seen in her light eyes. Still, she was making an obvious effort to seem normal, so he'd agree to play along for now.

"Is everything all right?" he asked. "It's a slow day."

"For some weird reason, Tuesdays are always a little slower than usual," she said. Her eyes flickered back to the straw. Green, he noticed, and something about the color green stuck with Conner.

"Is everything okay with Cam?" he asked.

Hayley's brow furrowed, and she said nothing. "You can talk to me," he said softly. "I know all about relationships, remember?" He flashed her a small grin, and the corners of her lips curled upwards.

"I'm sure," she said. "You're a veritable well of knowledge."

"Well, I have had the track record," he said. "That whole Krista thing? That was just this year."

"And who else has there been, Conner?" she asked, amusement tingeing her voice.

"Well, let's see, there was Tiffany, Janelle, Sara, Liz, Bridget, Jen, Maureen-"

"You can stop now," she said, but she was laughing.

"So obviously, I've had a lot of experience," he said. "And I've used all of that to get Kira to not dump me for three months now."

"Your parents must be so proud." Hayley rolled her eyes.

"So come on. You can talk to me about Cam. I can probably help."

She stared at him for a long moment, then finally her gaze dropped back to her glass, where she stirred her flat soda. "We haven't talked in awhile... we don't really talk at all, actually. About anything other than tech stuff. Don't get me wrong, I like the tech stuff, because no one's ever really understood that about me. Tommy tries, and Ethan comes pretty close, but Cam just gets it. Him getting it is like him getting me. I really value that. And I really like the idea of having someone to bounce ideas off of." She signed. "But he is the most closed off person I've ever known. He just doesn't know how to communicate beyond Zord maintenance."

"You two must have some common ground beyond your secret lives," offered Conner thoughtfully.

"You and Kira don't."

"Not true," he said. "We both like classic rock. Although she has this annoying habit of changing the station whenever 'My Sharona' comes on. Says The Knack isn't real music. Anyway, what else does Cam like? Do you know?"

"Not really," she admitted.

"Then ask. He may not talk much, but he won't ignore a direct question."

"I like Cam a lot," she said. "But he's not used to the relationship thing, and I'm worried that if I come on too strong, he might..."

"Leave?" Conner put voice to her thought. He placed his hand over hers on the counter. "Cam won't leave," he said. "Trust me. Why would he? He's a lucky guy. You're smart, you're beautiful, you're a shrewd businesswoman-" Hayley smirked at this, "-you're generous and sweet and funny, and you put up with a lot of crap. You're a catch, Hales, and Cam knows this. Even money says that he's acting the way he is because he's worried that you'll leave him."

"Do you think so?" she asked.

Conner grasped her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Trust me, Hayley." She smiled at him, and he noticed, not for the first time, that she had a very pretty smile. Ever since the day they'd met, Hayley had always looked out for Conner, both professionally and personally. He didn't know where he'd be without her. Instead of his usual charm, he opted instead to give her his most honest grin and hold her hand a little more tightly.

"You're a smart kid, Conner," she said, and he felt an odd twinge when she used the word 'kid'. He didn't know why. She was considerably older than him, after all. But she was coming to him for advice, and he'd thought of them, for a short period of time, as equals. Then again, a beautiful genius like Hayley existed in a whole other universe than someone like Conner.

"Hey, Conner," a voice popped in, and Kira's lips were at his cheek. Conner disentangled his hand from Hayley's casually and smiled at his girlfriend. "Hey. You're done with band practice early."

"Kevin's mom kicked us out of the garage again. He's really fond of drum solos. She's not." Kira gave an 'oh well' shrug. "So... I was thinking maybe we could catch a movie. How about that new heist thing you won't shut up about?"

"But you hate the guy that's in it," he said, standing up. "You keep saying how overrated and unsexy he is."

"He is. But then again, isn't everyone unsexy compared to Conner McKnight?" she teased.

"Well, obviously." Grinning, he tapped Hayley's shoulder gently in goodbye. "See ya, Hales," he said, and she smiled at him, however faintly. Conner's arm was soon around Kira's waist as they headed towards the door, joking about something. She watched them leave the building, and then through the window until they were out of sight. Frowning, she poked the straw around at the ice a moment, before rising to her feet and signaling to Tyler that she would be in her office. She shut the door behind her, picked up the phone, and punched out the familiar digits.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Cam, it's me."

"Hey, Hayley. Another slow Tuesday, huh?"

"Yeah. Are you busy?"

"Never for you. What's up?"

She curled up in her desk chair, smiling into the receiver and feeling at ease once again. "What sort of music do you listen to?"


End file.
